My Friend the Emperor

by William Lee Gordon

  The thought of leaving them to Tauri’s treachery, of standing by while she bled every world dry to pursue her blind ambition, it turned my stomach.

  “You can’t run away,” I heard myself saying.

  Monica looked startled by my outburst but the Captain’s expression didn’t change.

  “You are the heir to the throne,” I said. “All of these people, my mom, Monica’s dad, everyone’s families, and the trillions of people that we’ve never met – you have an obligation to them. If you abandon them now billions will die. Tauri will drive everyone else into ruin and misery. And even if they survive all of that they won’t be prepared to face the future. You can’t run away from them.”

  Monica jumped in and said not unkindly, “But Jac, maybe you’d be right if there was something we could do. But what? How can we, one ship, change the course of the Empire?”

  “I can’t, you can’t… but he can,” I said while looking straight at the Captain. “You have to. I’ll help you, I’ll die at your side if need be, but you can’t abandon all those people. You need to find a way.

  “I need you to be the person I think you are,” I concluded.

  There was a long silence in the room.

  Finally, Consuelo spoke, “I told you he wouldn’t go for it.”

  The Captain let out a long sigh and then said, “Monica, what if there was a way? Would you see it through with us?”

  This new turn in the conversation stunned me – and I was really getting tired of feeling that way. Consuelo and the Captain were so calm about it that I realized they must have talked this through beforehand. Maybe they’d hoped they could just walk away but knew we wouldn’t let them?

  At any rate, I was now looking at the surprised expression on Monica’s face.

  “Why is it I suddenly feel like I’ve missed half the conversation?” she asked.

  “I really don’t want to admit it but Jac has a good point. You said it yourself, if there’s something we could do things might be different. Well, it so happens that we might be able to intervene.”

  Now his words grew slightly louder and it was obvious he was speaking to both of us, “But you need to realize that this is a long shot. It’s going to get messy and you’re going to get your hands dirty. We may have to do some bad things to some bad people and we can only hope that other good people don’t get in the way. But unless we’re willing to go all out, unless we’re willing to risk everything we have no chance.

  “I need to know now. If you’re in you have to be fully in, no hesitation, no backing out later. If we do this we do it together…

  “Monica…” He questioned her with his gaze.

  I felt a warm admiration when she smiled and said, “Sure, why not.”

  He turned his gaze to me and waited.

  I nodded and said, “Let’s do it.”

  Maybe the Captain would be the man I had hoped he was after all.

  ΔΔΔ

  “Well Alyster, this is a surprise,” said the Empress Tauri Acamar from the Imperial Palace on Celcium.

  We were still sitting in the Captain’s day cabin. He had insisted on making one last effort to get Tauri to see reason. At least that’s what he’d said. I didn’t quite buy it; I think he might’ve had something else up his sleeve.

  “Where are you? We seem to have lost track of you,” she continued.

  Actually we were still in orbit around Gallo. The Captain had worked through Consuelo to establish an untraceable connection to the fleet net.

  “Yes, we ran into your surprise party, or at least what was left in the wake of it. I’m honored that you’re afraid of me.”

  “I am anything but afraid of you, my brother. You’re just a part of the detailed planning necessary to run an empire. Nothing personal you understand.”

  The Captain smiled, “You know Tauri sometimes I actually miss our verbal sparring. But I have another reason for calling. If I were to abdicate my claim to the throne would you call off the Civil War and leave our older brother in peace?”

  “I don’t know, why don’t you abdicate and then find out?” she said smoothly.

  “No, you call off the Civil War and officially recognize his government and then I’ll abdicate.”

  She laughed, “I’m not going to go first and neither are you, so I think we’ll leave things just as they are, dear brother.”

  “Tauri, nothing good can come of this. The entire empire will be weakened at a time when we need to be building our strength. Surely you can see that?”

  “The Empire’s strength will grow ten times faster once it’s been put back together,” she responded. “I intend to do exactly that - decisively and quickly.”

  “And how are you going to do it?” asked the Captain. Are you going to use kinetic bombardment like you did on Mount Sinai?”

  “That’s a vicious rumor,” she snarled.

  “No Tauri, it’s not. I was there in the aftermath. I saw what you did and there were survivors to talk about it.”

  “You have no proof,” she said. “And no one will believe you; they’ll know you just want the throne for yourself.”

  “I keep telling you Tauri, I don’t want the throne.”

  She just laughed.

  “You can’t imagine it because you can’t imagine not wanting it yourself, but it’s true. But what’s also true is that I can’t allow you to destroy the Empire with your bloodlust.”

  “And just how do you think you’ll stop me?” she sneered. “Do you think your friends the Meri Acá are going to help you?” she said snidely.

  “Because I can tell you that as soon as I’m finished with your brother they will cease to exist. I will finish what I started on Mount Sinai. Neither you nor those rogue idiots will stand against my Empire.”

  “Tauri, you have no idea what you’re saying, and I won’t let you do it anyway.”

  She started to snarl another response but the Captain interrupted, “And before you once again tell me that I can’t do anything about it, just remember that you were the first one to start using orbital kinetics.”

  Her face was turning bright red on the screen. “You wouldn’t…”

  The Captain turned the screen off.

  He set back in his chair and swiveled around to face the three of us. Consuelo looked thoughtful and Monica looked angry. It would be hard to describe everything I was feeling but I knew this, I sure hoped the Captain had a good plan.

  ΔΔΔ

  “You can’t possibly be thinking of using kinetic bombardment against her!” Monica insisted.

  We hadn’t left the dayroom and the import of his conversation with Tauri was just now sinking in.

  “I know you said it would get messy,” I said. “But that would kill millions. What difference does it make if we do it or Tauri does it? Either way we wouldn’t be saving the Empire.”

  “Would it be as bad as what my sister would do?” the Captain asked. “Do you think she’d stop with just one planet? Once she crosses that line she won’t stop. Every rebellion, every political opponent, she’d hold the sheer terror of it over everyone’s head for her entire reign.”

  I couldn’t argue with his logic, but still…

  “Look,” the Captain said. “I have no intention of doing it. But it doesn’t hurt if she thinks I will. But remember, you also said you’re in no matter what. I can’t be second-guessing myself and I can’t have you doing it for me; you’ll either see this through with me and follow my lead or you won’t.”

  For a moment I was actually worried he might change his mind about saving the empire.

  “You promise not to use kinetic bombardment?” Monica asked.

  “The only thing I can promise is that it would only be an absolute last resort; I won’t use it unless I truly can’t see any other way.”

  Another silence filled the room.

  I was the first to speak, “If I’m going to believe in you I guess I have to trust you. What’s next?” I asked.

  Th
e Captain turned to Monica and she threw her hands up in the air. “Fine!” she said.

  “There’s one other thing I need to do before we leave,” the Captain said.

  He then reached over and flipped on the intership intercom.

  He explained to the Citizens and crew our situation. He explained our reasoning for going up against Tauri. I won’t recount for you his exact words but they were straightforward and open. He didn’t try to hide his reluctance nor did he hide his obligation. He didn’t sugarcoat the danger and he admitted that the odds were against us, but he also showed his confidence in the Halcion and let some of that flippant and optimistic derring-do show itself.

  By the time he was done I can’t really say I was confident about victory, but I did feel good about what we were doing. There was a sense of rightness, of purpose. I felt a sense of pride.

  Apparently a lot of others felt the same way.

  The Captain had offered everyone a full day to think it over. Anyone that didn’t want to stay with the ship wouldn’t have to, but they would need to stay on Gallo for the duration and would not be permitted to communicate with the Empire.

  Only one Citizen and a handful of crewmen declined to join us. Not surprisingly they were the new additions that had been forced on us by the Fleet.

  Within 24 hours we were back into skip.

  Chapter thirty-nine

  ENSIGN JACOBY NICOLAY

  The Plan

  As pumped up and full of purposes as I felt we still had the long trip home.

  This time it only took us a little over 40 days to cross the Hades Forest. I’ve asked Felix about it but he’d just shrugged. Apparently the vagaries of space-time bubbling was either too difficult to explain or simply unknowable.

  At some point during those 40 days it struck me. I was actually living out one of my childhood dreams; we were on our way to save the Empire.

  Oddly, I didn’t feel heroic. In all the space vids I’d ever seen everyone is aware of the historic decisions they’re making; everyone is courageous and confident.

  I didn’t feel any of those things. I wasn’t acting on some well thought out principles or making some kind of moral stand, I just didn’t want to see a bunch of people die and I didn’t want to see the Empire destroyed. I wasn’t acting noble, I was reacting to fear. But I don’t think I was alone; it was a somber trip for all of us.

  The one exception was the Captain. He was back to his old flippant self.

  He was now wandering the ship at all different hours, striking up conversations here and there, and generally being more visible than I’d ever known him to be. It wasn’t long before some of the wilder stories about his exploits started circulating again. I thought that maybe the tales were a little taller this time around but no one seemed to really care.

  It drove me crazy but the crew was eating it up.

  I was anxious; I kept waiting for him to share his grand plan with us but he didn’t seem in any hurry. He wasn’t secretive; he just seemed unconcerned.

  “We’ll figure it out Jac,” or “It’ll work itself out,” was always his reply.

  We all sought to keep ourselves busy. Monica started giving me shooting lessons.

  It’s not that I was a bad shot but she was, after all, a champion. When she’d first offered I’d felt slightly intimidated. But I’d also instantly realized that the thought of spending some time with her was more attractive to me than the embarrassment of always being bested by her.

  My marksmanship did actually improve. The first thing she had done was correct my shooting stance. And I would never admit to purposely being a little slow to learn or enjoying it when she stood close behind me and wrapped her arms around mine to position my aim, molding my body into the correct stance.

  After one such lesson I suppose I was feeling a little cocky. I’d just notched my highest score yet. We were cleaning our weapons and I was in a talkative mood.

  “You know,” I said. “Once we remove Tauri the Captain will automatically be the Emperor. That could bode really well for each of us personally.”

  I really wasn’t trying to sound self-serving. I’d actually only thought of it just recently and wasn’t dwelling on it, I was just trying to make conversation.

  “Good for you,” she said somewhat stiffly.

  “Mmm, I just mean that we may have options.”

  “Yes Jac, I’m sure you’ll be rewarded greatly and I’m sure you’ll end up with some important Imperial position. I’m just not quite as gung ho about this whole thing as you are.”

  “Then why did you agree to it?” I asked.

  She didn’t answer and I actually thought she was getting ready to leave.

  “Why did you agree to it?” she finally responded.

  I was surprised by her question. I’d thought it was obvious.

  “We need to save the Empire,” I said. “It’s our duty, our obligation.”

  Her nonresponse made my words feel a little bit lame, even to me.

  I tried again. “Look Monica, I’ve always believed in the Empire. The Captain is imperfect but he’ll be the best Emperor we’ve had in my lifetime. We can set things right and give all of our people a chance at a much better life.

  “Isn’t that worth fighting for?” I asked.

  “Do you really think that one person can change the entire empire?” she responded. “All the corruption at every level of the fleet? Do you really think the Captain can change the greed and self-serving attitudes of the civil service and business legions? Do you really think he can just snap his fingers and give your mother and my father the better life that they deserve?

  “Are you really that naïve?” she finished strongly.

  She really seemed angry.

  “Monica, I didn’t mean to upset you,” I said softly.

  She abruptly stood up and left the compartment.

  To say I was confused would be an understatement. I honestly didn’t know what I’d said to make her mad.

  While I was seriously trying to figure that out another thought crept into the back of my mind… How could one person, even an Emperor, change the Empire?

  ΔΔΔ

  We’d finally arrived back at our starting point.

  We were on the bridge as we emerged from our skip at the system’s edge.

  “Preliminary scans show two ships in the system, Captain,” said Durand. “The C.E.S. Vindicator is in low orbit and the C.E.S. Sabre is in a higher orbit but at rest relative to the Vindicator.”

  “Very well,” the Captain said. “Put us in the highest orbit but at rest relative to both. Maria, download an RTIC update. Assuming that the star isn’t about to go nova or some such other imminent emergency give the two captains our regards and an ETA.”

  He swiveled his chair where he could see both Monica and I.

  “Now the fun begins,” he said with a wry smile.

  ΔΔΔ

  Not long after we reached orbit the Captain, along with Felix and Maria, took a shuttle to the C.E.S. Sabre.

  Before he left he had informed me that my package had been delivered.

  “You might want to take this opportunity to inform the sender,” he’d suggested.

  He’d been walking away when he’d stopped and turned back to me. He’d delivered the message in a quiet whisper.

  “What was that all about?” Monica asked after the Captain had left.

  “Oh, just an inside story,” I replied. “If you need me I’ll be in my cabin.”

  ΔΔΔ

  “Valys, I hope this message finds you well.

  “In some ways you’re the closest friend I’ve ever had. I’ve known for some time that our destinies are not intertwined, but I will always be grateful to you for what I learned and what we shared.

  “When we ran into each other again on your ship you held my fate in your hands. In many ways that’s no different than it’s always been.

  “I acknowledge that there is no possible way to repay you but that hasn’t
stopped me from wanting to do something for you. I hope you will sleep better tonight knowing that a certain person has reached safety. I am confident that her future will be bright.

  “The political situation is terrible and I hope we never have to cross swords but if it happens I know we will both do our duty. I am confident that you will always do what you think is right and you need have no guilt for doing so.